Warren woman arrested after causing series of accidents in Hazel Park

(Photo courtesy of the Hazel Park Police Department)
A Hazel Park woman accidentally crashed her Dodge SUV into the lobby of this building Monday after police say she was struck by a Warren woman suspected of driving while she was high on prescription tranquilizers.

A Warren woman suspected of being high on prescription drugs caused several road accidents and sent an SUV crashing into the lobby of the Hazel Park Adult Education builiding, striking a security guard, police say.

"She later told our officers she was on her way to an AA meeting in Memphis, Michigan," Hazel Park Police Chief Martin Barner said.

The suspect, 42, is jailed and expected to be arraigned today in Hazel Park 43rd District Court.

Police said the suspect was involved in a series of accidents about 10:20 a.m. Monday on westbound Nine Mile.

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A witness called Hazel Park Police to report a woman in a Chrysler Pacifica speeding and driving erratically.

Police said they began to follow the suspect near Powell and West Nine Mile Road, west of Interstate 75, when she struck a 2008 Ford Focus, which then rear-ended a Ford pickup truck. Neither of those drivers was injured.

"The suspect careened off the Ford Focus and struck a Dodge Nitro (SUV) which then ran off the roadway into the lobby of the Hazel Park Adult Ed building at 420 W. Nine Mile," Barner said.

The crash injured a 59-year-old Ferndale man working as a security guard in the lobby who was treated and released from an area hospital. The Dodge was driven by a Hazel Park woman, 21, who complained of chest injuries from the crash, Barner said. She was hospitalized and her injuries are not life threatening.

Police arrested the suspect and said they found prescription pills in her purse, including the tranquilizer Xanax, some of which had not been prescribed to her.

The suspect failed field sobriety tests but a breath test showed she had no alcohol in her system, Barner said. She was taken to a hospital where a blood sample was taken and submitted to the Michigan State Police lab for testing. Test results are not expected for at least a month.